Milwaukee Brewers Blog - Bernie's Crew : CC Sabathia

Round 'em Up: Wednesday (02/11/09)

Jim Breen — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:46:49 GMT

Due to time constraints, I got out the lasso to Round 'em Up a little early this morning.

Major League News

The Braden Looper deal has become a bit more clear. Tom Haudricourt reports that the contract includes a mutual option for 2010. As I said last night, Braden is simply giving himself some economic security if the free agent market next season projects to be just as stingy as this one. There is no word as to what the monetary value of the option is, but the 2009 portion is said to be $4.75MM. No reports about incentives or anything of that sort either.

Baseball Think Factory reacts to the Braden Looper signing and wonders: How many Jeff Suppan's can one team have? First of all, if you are a regular reader of Bernie's Crew, you know my thoughts about that statement. Braden Looper and Jeff Suppan are not the same pitcher. I would have been absolutely thrilled to have Soup throw 199 innings and post a 4.16 ERA in 2008. Didn't happen. Second, that statement implies the Brewers already had more than one "Jeff Suppan" before Looper signed. I am not certain which pitcher would fall into that camp. Yovani Gallardo and his sub-2.00 ERA last season? Manny Parra and his high-strikeout, high-walk magic act? Dave Bush and his fastball that actually has significant movement? Seth McClung, who can dial it up to the high-90s?

Jack over at Right Field Bleachers projects Braden Looper to finish the season with a 1.65 WAR, meaning the right-hander is good for adding 1.65 wins over replacement-level pitching. That would value Looper at about $6.5-7.5MM, which would potentially be a bargain next season -- depending on the assumed incentives. As the post says (which I intimated Monday), the real value of this signing is that Seth McClung can now move to the bullpen. That strengthens the back-end of the 'pen, while maintaining at least an average starting rotation. Not to mention the Brewers obviously now have more depth.

John Halpin at FOX Sports opines that Braden Looper will be fine in Milwaukee because their infield defense is solid. I do not wish to criticize this argument too much, as I believe Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks' defense is underrated, it should be noted that Milwaukee's infield accumulated the most errors in the big leagues last season. I expect that to improve this season -- unless Mat Gamel wins the third base job.

Adam McCalvy spoke with Doug Melvin, who definitively states that Ben Sheets will not be coming back to Milwaukee. It seems that the two sides are no longer amicable, or perhaps Benny simply informed Milwaukee that he does not wish to return to Wisconsin.

"There's probably logic to it, but it's not going to happen," said Melvin, who believes that Sheets "has some other avenues he's looking at."

Melvin still will not say whether the matter of paying for Sheets' surgery has been settled, instead referring all questions to agent Casey Close, who has not returned a number of calls.

Bruce Jenkins of the the San Francisco Chronicle opines that CC Sabathia would have been far happier signing with the Giants. He has been "saddled with an aging zoo" in New York and will regret signing with the Bronx Bombers. The article also goes on to say Sabathia did not need the extra money offered by the Yankees. The southpaw could have been "ridiculously rich" with the Giants instead of "insanely rich" with the Yankees. Unless I am mistaken, the Giants never made a concrete offer. If it was around the $100MM deal Milwaukee offered, that $60MM is difficult to turn down. Suggesting CC should have foregone that money to "be happier" with the Giants is ridiculous.

The Tampa Bay Rays and Brian Shouse are finally prepared to declare their deal "official." After much confusion over the length of the deal, Brian is only guaranteed one-year with an option for the 2010 season. His agent seemed certain his client could secure a two-year deal this offseason. I suppose the market this offseason has hindered many multi-year deals from happening.

FanGraphs discusses how the minimum accepted offense has gone through its ebbs and flows throughout Major League history. Baseball used to greatly overvalue defense, but that swung full circle in the 1990s. Teams then too readily gave up defense for more power and greater offensive output. Now, however, there seems to be a healthier blend between the two. Players like Bobby Abreu and Adam Dunn are finally being held accountable for their below-average defense. Concerning the Brewers, however, I found this article very interesting when relating to Alcides Escobar. How much offense does he need to provide play everyday at shortstop? Is a .310 OBP good enough with Gold Glove caliber defense? How about .320?

Minor League News

Project Prospect ranks each organization based on the overall value of their position prospects. The Brewers come in at #8, behind the likes of Florida, Cleveland, and San Diego. The site greatly values Lorenzo Cain in Milwaukee's system, along with 5 other position prospects. My guess based on their previous articles? Those include Mat Gamel, Alcides Escobar, Cole Gillespie, and Caleb Gindl. I do feel Angel Salome and Jonathan Lucroy should be included in their as well, however.

Other Baseball News

After hearing that Bobby Abreu could be forced to settle for a one-year, $4MM deal this winter, Jon Heyman is reporting that Abreu and the Los Angeles Angels have agreed to a one-year, $5MM deal plus incentives. Did you know Abreu is the only player in major league history with over 200 home runs, 300 stolen bases, a .400 OBP, and a .300 career batting average? Insane. FanGraphs details the plummeting market Abreu has suffered through this offseason.

Joe Beimel is upset about the free agent market this offseason.

"It's been strange and I can't put my finger on it," Beimel said. "I put up good numbers three straight years, I'm durable. Usually that means you get a good contract, but it just hasn't happened this year. It's just really weird. I haven't even had a reasonable offer to negotiate with. I don't want to sign just to sign. It's definitely discouraging, but you've got to deal with it. I'll just wait it out."

After many did not understand why Jeremy Affeldt jumped so quickly to sign a two-year, $8MM deal with the San Francisco Giants earlier this winter, many quality relievers now regret the decision to "wait the market out." Players like Beimel, Wolf, and Looper have all sacrificed massive amounts of money in an attempt to wait for a "quality" deal.

The Colorado Rockies courted both left-handers Brian Shouse and Joe Beimel, but settled on signing lefty Randy Flores to a minor league contract worth $600K if he makes the big league squad. Flores struggled with the Cardinals last season, posting a 5.26 ERA. The article notes that the Rockies moved on from Beimel after the asking price never came down.

Who is the worst career hitter in baseball history? Bill Bergen. Bill played catcher from 1901 to 1911, and hit a career .170/.194/.201 at the plate. He only hit two home runs in over 3,200 plate appearances. That OPB and slugging percentage also implies he rarely walked and hit very few doubles. Quality player.

Round 'em Up: Saturday (1/3/09)

Jim Breen — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 18:39:00 GMT

Time for the first Round 'em Up of the 2009 season.

Major League News

Now that Brian Fuentes inked a contract with the Los Angeles Angels, Tom Haudricourt suggests the Brewers only outside option to fill the role is Trevor Hoffman. The veteran right-hander was a bit less effective in 2008 than in the previous seasons, due to a large increase in his home run rate. It jumped from 0.31 HR/9 in 2007 to 1.59 HR/9 last season. His strikeout and walk rates were still extremely above average -- 9.13 K/9 and 1.79 BB/9 -- so it is not unreasonable to assume Hoffman's 3.77 ERA would drop substantially next season if his peripheral stats stay consistent and his home run rate regresses towards his 0.82 HR/9 career average. A one-year, $5MM would most likely land Hoffman in Milwaukee. There is one major obstacle, however. The Padres just sold their franchise, meaning Hoffman's tiff with the previous owner becomes moot. Could Trevor be willing to renegotiate with the Padres now?

Jon Heyman from SI.com ranks the Top 20 remaining Free Agents. Braden Looper is not on the list, but Tim Redding checks in at number twenty. How? I am not sure. His 4.95 ERA and 1.43 WHIP somehow must look infinitely more attractive to teams than Looper's 4.16 ERA and 1.31 WHIP. I suppose those are just superficial numbers, but Looper's peripherals are much better as well. FanGraphs is surprised Looper is not getting more attention this offseason, as he will likely sign a two-year $18MM contract. That is much more reasonable than the three-year/$36MM contract Jon Garland is projected to receive this winter.

In-Between Hops says it is time for Doug Melvin to get busy finding some new arms to fill out the bullpen and starting rotation. Agreed, but I cannot stress how important it is that Melvin does not overpay simply to please the fans. We do not need a sexy signing. The organization needs an effective signing. There is a difference, believe it or not. Ask Jeff Suppan about that.

In honor of the New Year, Right Field Bleachers discusses the best and worst decisions of the 2009 season. Obviously, the CC Sabathia and Eric Gagne signings take up most of the writing, but the likes of Russell Branyan and Salomon Torres are also discussed.

Even Cardinals blogs are beginning to feel sorry for the Brewers and their offseason. The only silver lining I can think of in our winter of discontent is that teams are not disparaging us over terrible signings. We all knew Ben Sheets and CC Sabathia were leaving. The only surprises have been the Salomon Torres retirement and the fact that Milwaukee lost their first-round pick from the New York Yankees because of the Mark Teixeira signing. It has been a little rough this winter.

Minor League News

Al's Ramblings posted his Top 10 Prospects. Alcides Escobar and Mat Gamel take the top two spots. I believe that Jeremy Jeffress should be higher on the list. It does depend on how much one believes his offspeed pitches will progress this upcoming season. If his control improves just a bit, he will be fast-tracked to Nashville.

Other Baseball News

The Cubs have been quite busy in the last week or so. They sent Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians for three minor league pitchers -- right-handers Jeff Stevens and Chris Archer, along with left-hander John Gaub. Chicago then shipped Jason Marquis to the Colorado Rockies for struggling reliever, Luis Vizcaino. That move saved about $5MM for the Northsiders. To replace DeRosa, they inked Aaron Miles to a two-year deal. He will serve as the utility man they lost in DeRosa, even though he will not provide the same power. If that is not enough, the Cubs are supposedly about to sign Milton Bradley to a multi-year deal to take over the right field spot for Kosuke Fukudome. Whew. Got that? Good.

The White Sox and Orioles are reportedly discussing a deal that would send Brian Roberts to Chicago for right-hander Gavin Floyd. Rumor has it that Baltimore is demanding more, while the White Sox want to make it a straight up swap. How would you not make this deal if you were the Orioles? Floyd is a young pitcher who can stabilize their struggling rotation, while Roberts is a year away from free agency. Seems obvious to me.

The ever-popular Derrick Turnbow will reunite with Mike Maddux in Texas. The right-handed reliever signed a minor league deal that will pay him just under a million dollars if he makes it to the big leagues. If Derrick shows any semblance of control, he will be pitching in Arlington before May rolls around.

Here are a couple other tidbits for you:

Veteran right-hander Paul Byrd is mulling retirement.
Derek Lowe wants more than Carlos Silva's four-year, $48MM deal he signed with the Mariners last season. That was such a bad deal.
Andruw Jones and the Dodgers restructured his contract to make him a more viable trade option.
The San Francisco Giants are willing to take a chance on Joe Crede.

Round 'em Up: Saturday (12/27/08)

Jim Breen — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:23:43 GMT

After a wonderful couple days of the holiday season, it's time to catch up on some Brewers and baseball news that has gone down in the past few days.

Major League News

Cross off another potential free agent acquisition for the Milwaukee Brewers. Randy Johnson signed an $8MM contract with a potential $5MM in performance incentives with the San Francisco Giants this weekend. This is a very solid signing for the Giants, and their starting rotation is incredibly solid. Johnson made a lot of sense for the Crew in 2009, but his desire to play on the West Coast was just too much to overcome. Will Doug Melvin make a call to Ben Sheets and his agent now?

Doug Melvin and the Brewers have had a rough offseason thus far. Not only are fans getting antsy waiting for the signings that will push this team into contention in 2009, but the blogosphere is also criticizing Milwaukee. Baseball Digest Daily ranks Milwaukee as having the worst offseason in baseball so far this winter. I suspect it is more because the team has lost the likes of CC Sabathia, Salomon Torres, and Ben Sheets, not because the team has not signed an impact player. Other teams have lurked in the background, waiting for the market price to come down.

MLB Trade Rumors names some of the Free Agent busts and bargains from last season, judging from Wins Above Replacement. Milwaukee had a very nice season from signing Mike Cameron, Jason Kendall, and Russell Branyan. Cam's contract saved Milwaukee $12.55MM based on his value. Mike Lamb was one of the free agent busts from last season. That will not happen in 2009, however, as the Crew inked him for the league minimum. The U.S.S. Mariner laments over Seattle's choice not to resign Mike Cameron after 2003. Hopefully, Doug Melvin learns from past mistakes and keeps Cam in center field for the Brewers next season.

For all of you who lament over Milwaukee's "small-market" woes, you should note that the Crew had the 15th largest payroll in the entire league in 2008. That is a testament to Mark Attanasio and the Brewers fans across the nation that invested their money in the first Brewers playoff team in 26 years. Keep it up in 2009. I know the economy makes it tough, but Milwaukee could give the state something to unite itself once again next season. We could use that.

Buster Olney believes the Brewers will not be in the race for Oliver Perez, Randy Wolf, or Derek Lowe. This means Doug Melvin will have to set his sights elsewhere. Braden Looper is a very nice start, but could a reunion with Ben Sheets be in the cards? The Texas Rangers have made contact with Sheets' agent, but no official offer has been made. It is also believed to be a long shot to have the right-hander pitch in Texas. Where else could he land?

Beyond the Box Score analyzes the NL Lineups via WAR (Wins Above Replacement). According to this method, the Brewers would finish third in the Central behind the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. I suspect this could improve just a bit if a couple arms were brought in via free agency. The offense appears to be fairly solid and pretty well set.

The Milwaukee Brewers are a little upset about the Yankees signing Mark Teixeira and the Angels swiping their first-round draft pick. Mark Attanasio believes there should be a salary cap implemented in Major League Baseball. Doug Melvin is a little upset about the Elias Rankings and the fact that Los Angeles now has the Yankees' first-rounder and Milwaukee is stuck with the second-rounder. He's also upset about the fact that the Yankees still get to have a first-round draft pick. Milwaukee has gotten a little feisty this offseason.

Other Baseball News

The Reds signed Willy Taveras. He may be slightly more productive than Corey Patterson, but not by much.

Speaking of Corey Patterson, the Washington Nationals signed Patterson and Jorge Sosa to minor league deals. Sosa should improve this season, but Patterson is still horrid.

Yankees sign Mark Teixeira

Jim Breen — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:29:10 GMT

SI.com is reporting that the New York Yankees are on the verge of signing Mark Teixeira. The financials are not available yet.

Why does this deserve it's own post?

The Brewers just lost their first-round pick compensation for CC Sabathia, as Tex ranks higher in the Elias Rankings. Milwaukee now only receives a sandwich pick and a second round pick to replace Sabathia's left arm. Great. I hate the Yankees.

This offseason has been very, very rough for Brewers fans.

Round 'em Up: Monday (12/22/08)

Jim Breen — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 18:12:00 GMT

While you're digging yourself out of the snow after a frigid weekend, read David Pinto's thoughts on Milwaukee's offseason thus far. David Pinto is the author of Baseball Musings and used to be the chief researcher for ESPN's Baseball Tonight.

Major League News

As you all know from checking in yesterday, the Milwaukee Brewers are supposedly close to signing Braden Looper to help round out the starting rotation. The right-hander put together a solid season for the St. Louis Cardinals last season and would be a solid acquisition, even if it does not present much of an upside. He should be relatively affordable and can likely be had for a two-year deal. Milwaukee's GM seems reluctant, however, to give any pitcher a multi-year deal. Doug Melvin confirms interest in Looper, but did not admit to anything being imminent regarding Looper. The Crew is battling with the Baltimore Orioles for Looper's services. It is unclear who is leading the race. I am certain we will hear more in the coming days.

There is absolutely nothing happening on the Mike Cameron trade front. The New York Yankees have reportedly stepped away from the discussions because Melky Cabrera is showing very good plate discipline in Winter Ball. People in the front office apparently are beginning to believe in Melky and Brett Gardner, who played with a lot of intensity and energy last season. It seems the Yanks did not discontinue talks with the Brewers because of a lack of interest in Cameron, but because their internal options are stepping up. Still, CC Sabathia is pushing for Cam to play with the Bronx Bombers. He says the great clubhouse attitude in Milwaukee last season was due to Cam's personality. Good to hear for the Crew.

Speaking of CC Sabathia, he is saying he did not sign with the Yankees purely because of the money. The big lefty says there would have been way too much pressure in Milwaukee:

If I had gone back to Milwaukee, they would have been looking to me to win every single game. I expect to win every single game here, too, but there would have been more immense pressure there because they wouldn't have been able to put the pieces around me to help me win. I think I can get that here....
If I had went somewhere else, they would have expected me to do what I did the last second half in Milwaukee and you know that's kinda unrealistic.

Right Field Bleachers are a little upset over Sabathia's comments and wrote a letter to the big guy, but I believe that CC made some good points in his statements. Perhaps he did not phrase it all too well. I completely understand that. At the same time, however, CC comprehends the fact that Milwaukee could not afford to field a competitive team if the Crew handcuffed all their money in one player. The entire team would be built around CC. He would be expected to win almost every game he stepped on the mound. Fans would have demanded (and already were expecting) that CC would put together a sub-2.00 ERA like he did in the second half. That is unreasonable.

CC is correct in saying the expectations would have been far too high in Milwaukee, but I agree with Right Field Bleachers when they say the expectations will not be any lower in New York. If the southpaw believes Yankees fans will be easier on him, he has another thing coming. Still, I wish him the best of luck in New York. He has been a class act (perhaps besides these comments) and carried an entire team to the playoffs. Milwaukee will hopefully remember him for bringing postseason baseball to Wisconsin for the first time in 26 years, rather than leaving for a huge payday in New York.

Ryan Braun will represent the United States of America in the World Baseball Classic in March. Congratulations to Ryan for getting the honor to play for his country. I look forward to watching him hit absolute bombs against worldwide competition.

Minor League News

Brew Crew Ball has their Winter League Update up once again. Jason Bourgeois continues to get it done in Mexico. He is now hitting .353/.420/.432 this winter, which is very impressive for the young utility man. Jason is making a huge push for a big league bench position this spring.

While Jason has been stellar, Jorge Julio blew up over the weekend. He only managed to get through two-thirds of an inning, giving up six runs on three hits and two walks. That is very Derrick Turnbow-esque right there. At least Joe Bateman can make me feel a bit better. He threw 1.1 innings of scoreless ball and has only given up one earned run in his last eight innings pitched. That is what we like to see.

The Community Prospect Rankings also continue to plod along. Alcides Escobar locked up #1. Mat Gamel won the #2 spot by a large amount. Now comes the time for #3. I thought Angel Salome would do pretty well, but Jeremy Jeffress ran away with the third spot. As he should have.

Rattler Radio discusses how the Nashville Sounds got a new owners from New York over the past couple months.

Other Baseball News

Randy Wolf desires to return to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but it is unclear whether or not the Dodgers are listening. The Brewers have been connected to Wolf in recent weeks, but the veteran pitcher is reportedly demanding a three-year, $30MM contract. You can be sure that Doug Melvin will not be offering Randy Wolf more than a one, maybe a two-year deal. He will not be going three.

The Mark Teixeira soap opera goes on and on. The Boston Red Sox proclaimed they will not be factors in the dealings for Tex, as their offer does not come close to other offers. Now the Angels have withdrawn their eight-year offer, reportedly around $160MM. It would seem the discussions now surround the Nationals and the Orioles. Do not count out the Red Sox, however. I suspect their owner simply was sending a message to Scott Boras that his demands are unreasonable, and the Red Sox will not be approaching it. They still probably have the highest offer out there.

Manny Ramirez is expecting a three-year contract offer from the New York Yankees in the coming days. This makes a lot of sense for the Pinstripes, in my opinion. The price tag will likely be way too high, but it is not like the Yanks will be complaining about money this year. Impacto Deportivo is reporting that the New York Yankees are about to sign Manny to a three-year, $75MM deal. Brian Cashman, however, says this is not true.

There have been some rumblings in the NL Central. The St. Louis Cardinals are apparently moving on from Brian Fuentes. They reportedly made a very competitive offer, but have not heard back from the Fuentes camp. I understand not wanting to sign yet, as Fuentes wants to play for the Angels, but you still need to respond to an offer. This inconsiderate method of negotiation has been the norm this offseason.

Adam Dunn made it clear that his first choice is the Chicago Cubs. He would make Chicago's offense downright scary, but the Cubbies seem to covet Milton Bradley much more than Dunn.

The Pittsburgh Pirates actually completed a very fine deal, securing Ryan Doumit over the next four to five years. They bought out the arbitration years, so they will be paying much less than they normally would have in the coming years. Doumit is an injury risk. There is no doubt about that. He is a huge power threat when healthy, however. A good move for the Buccos.